


This is not a Video Game.

by 36musie56



Category: Real Person Fiction, The Walking Dead (Video Games), Youtube RPF
Genre: A Lot of Death, Apocalypse, Because of Reasons, Clementine is an adorable fuck, I am septiplier trashhhh, Maternal Reader, Mercy Killing, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Rape/Non-con, Rating will change, Scavenging for supplies, Septiplier AWAY!, Stitches, Sucked Into Video Game, Zombie Apocalypse, reader calls kenny Dad uvu, reader has a nickname but her real name is up to you, youtuber reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2018-08-15 20:44:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8072134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/36musie56/pseuds/36musie56
Summary: "Did you ever think about anything like this happening?" You ask quietly, staring up at the stars."No." Cry's low voice replies. You look over at him, his brown hair fanning behind his head on the grass."Cause I did." You admit. He looks at you then, and his Sup Guy mask is pushed up just enough for you to see his mouth in a confused frown."How?""I dreamt of it all the time. But I never thought I'd find anybody...like you." You whisper, taking his hand and tracing the lines on his palm with your finger."I never thought I'd find you either." He says softly, smiling.





	1. Prologue

"And I think...that's all for today,my lovelies! Have a fantasmic orgastic day, and don't forget to subscribe and give me a like while you're at it! Sugar, out!" You cheer, and switch off Fraps and the microphone.  
A loud breath of air emerges from your parted lips.  
"That's another video done, boys." You coo, scratching your dogs behind the ears. Your greyhound, Speedwagon, is a retired racing dog. He's named for the character in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Although he's retired, he can still run like lightning! The husky is called Misha, and you named him after the talking dog on Youtube. He's not that much bigger than a pup.  
You have a Youtube channel. You're called SugarSkull1995. It's actually really popular. You do gaming videos and speedpaints mostly. You've never shown your face, and your profile picture is a anime-ized representation of yourself.  
Your most popular ongoing series is of The Walking Dead. You'd seen other people play it, but never played it yourself. And by 'seen other people', I mean seen the thumbnails for their videos.  
Youtube is your passion.  
Your life.  
You yawn, getting up.  
"Time to sleep, eh, Mishi?" You sigh, stroking Misha's muzzle. He whines and nudges his face against your hand.  
You flop backwards onto your bed, heaving a huge sigh. Speedwagon clambers onto the bed and curls up next to you, as does Misha. You put an arm around both of your boys and fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A loud gunshot sounds. Your eyes open and you're in an unknown forest. You stand up, wincing, and cradle your arm. It's been bent at a strange angle.  
"Argh..." You whine. Misha barks by your side and flattens down his ears. Okay...Misha's here...  
"Speedwagon?" You call. Your voice echos around the thick trees.  
"Speedy, boy. Where are you, lovely?" You coo, peering into a brush.  
You didn't expect a rotting man to pounce at you.  
"AGGGHH!" You shriek, stumbling backwards and narrowly missing the man's rotting teeth. You thud against a tree, scraping your back on the rough bark.  
The man staggers towards you, a low snarl erupting from his bloody throat.  
"Z-zombie...!" You whimper, raising your arms above your head and awaiting the incoming bite.  
It never comes.  
The zombie falls to the floor, blood pouring from a fresh wound in its head.  
Two men stand in front of you.  
One of them you can't see too well, as his head is turned away from you while he throws away the heavy branch that must have been used to kill the walker. The other one, however...  
"Are you okay?" Lee Everett asks, holding a concerned hand out.  
"Y-yeah. I hurt my arm a bit, though." You stutter, gripping his hand and letting him help you up.  
"I'm Lee. Who are you?"  
"M-my nickname is Sugar. This is Misha." You introduce yourself and your husky. Lee frowns slightly at the fact that you're using a nickname but accepts it.  
"I'm Cry." The other man says, still looking away, and you gasp at his familiar voice.  
"C-Cryaotic?" You ask, but quickly cover your mouth. The guy whips his head around. His hair is mussed up and brown, and he has a white mask covering the upper half of his face.  
"How did you- never mind. That's not important."  
"Why did you call him that?" Lee asks, confused.  
"H-he's...kinda famous, I guess. I recognized his voice..." You look at Cry with wide eyes. "Huge fan of your videos. It's fantastic to meet you."  
He grins. "Would you say it's...fantasmic and orgastic?"  
You inhale sharply. "You-"  
"Hi, Sugar Skull. Recognized your voice. Huge fan of your videos, friend." He says, copying what you just told him.  
"Wow..." You say weakly. Cryaotic watches your videos?  
Lee coughs.  
"You know, we really should try and find someone else to help us. You're free to come with us." He offers, and you nod.  
"We should try up there." Cry points to a wooden fence. Misha barks, and you suddenly remember.  
"W-wait!" You cry. Lee and Cry look at you oddly. "M-my other dog...Speedwagon. I think he's around here somewhere."  
Cry looks imploringly at Lee. "We can't leave a dog out here, man."  
Lee sighs. "We'll find him. What does he look like?"  
"He's...he's a retired racing greyhound. His coat is fawn and he has a white strip going down his stomach. He comes to about here." You point to your hip.  
"Alright. Call him- but quietly. You don't want to draw the attention of any more of those...things."  
  
"Speedwagon! Speedy!" You hiss, looking around. "Speedwagon!"  
After around five minutes of searching, Lee gently touches your uninjured arm.  
"We can't stay for long. We have to stop and find somewhere. It's getting dark." He says, pointing at the pink-streaked sky.  
"But Speedy..." You whisper, tears pouring down your face. Cry pulls you into a hug.  
"I'm sure he'll turn up, friend. Just a matter of time." You nod against his chest and fish Misha's leash from out of your hoodie pocket, holding back a sob when you realise Speedwagon's leash is in there too. He releases you and leads you up to the fence he saw.  
"Looks like we can climb over." Lee observes. He turns to you and Cry.  
"I think one of us should climb over, Cry, seeing as Sugar's hurt her arm. Then the other one can lift her over and the guy on the other side can get her down."  
Cry bites his lip. "You go over first. Then you won't be putting too much strain on that leg by lifting her." He says, indicating Lee's injured leg. Lee nods.  
"Makes sense, man." He agrees.  
"Sounds good." You say, sniffing slightly. Lee grunts, heaving himself up onto the fence with a little bit of help from Cry. Once he's over, Cry turns to you.  
"Going up?" He jokes, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you so you're sitting on the fence. Lee is on the other side, smiling encouragingly up at you. He reaches up and helps you down. Cry lifts Misha over to Lee, who places him down carefully. The dog barks happily and leaps up, licking your face. Cry comes shortly after him, but he lands on his ass with a thump.  
"Oww..." He whines, as you and Lee stifle laughter.  
"Nice one." You snicker, giving him a thumbs up, to which he blushes behind his mask and swats at you playfully.  
"Hello?" Lee calls loudly, making you jump.  
"Argh! Lee!" You whine. The yard seems to be empty. The pool is covered over, and the tea set below the playhouse clearly hasn't been touched in a long time.  
"Is the backdoor locked?" You ask. Cry leaps onto the porch and checks it.  
"Nope!" He says, popping the 'P'. He gently slides the door open. You tie Misha to the porch fence with his leash. He whines but rests his head his paws obediently.  
"Hello? We're not here to hurt anyone. We just want help." You call. The house is deserted and dark.  
"Creepy..." Cry says quietly. You shiver. It's just like one of those horror games that Cry and Pewds or Cry and the Late Night Crew would play together.  
"Reminds me of your videos." You comment, to which he gently slaps your arm.  
"That is rude, young miss." He says. You scoff.  
"I'm twenty-two. Not that young."  
"Younger than me, at least. I'm twenty-seven."  
"Yeah yeah, you're both kids compared to me. Thirty-seven." Lee remarks.  
"Heh. Old man." You and Cry say together, before looking at each other in surprise and collapsing into fits of giggles.  
"Jinx." You say quickly before he can. Cry groans.  
"Maa-aan..."  
You giggle and walk into the kitchen. Unfortunately, you fail to notice the pool of blood on the floor.  
"W-wagh!" You squeal, slipping to the floor. Cry dashes to your side and helps you up. His arm is wrapped protectively around your waist, and his face is barely an inch away from yours.  
"O-okay, Sugar?" He asks desperately.  
"Yeah..." You mumble, face heating up at your close proximity. Cry's neck, ears and visible face redden behind his mask and he withdraws his hands, clearing his throat.  
"So...I'm just gonna look through these drawers." You hesitate.  
"Sounds good, friend!" Cry says, covering his embarassment with a cheerful tone. Neither of you see Lee's knowing grin.  
You rumage through the kitchen drawers, finding nothing but a walkie talkie. You sigh and take it, disheartened.  
"Nothin'. All empty except a kiddie's walkie talkie." You call to the men, who are looking at you expectantly.  
There's a glass of water sitting by the sink.  
"There's water, though!" You say, picking up the glass.  
"We should all take turns taking sips." Cry suggests, to which you nod.  
You pass the water round, taking equal swigs of water. Instantly your raw throat feels much better.  
"That's better..." Lee murmurs.  
An answering machine beeps, startling you. Lee presses the button.  
"Three new messages." The robotic voice drones. "Message one. Left at 5:43 p.m"  
"Hey, Sandra, this is Diana, we're still in Savannah." A cheerful woman's voice sounds from the machine. "Uh, Ed had a little incident with some crazy guy near the hotel so we had to get him back to the E.R to get it checked out. Anyway, h-he's not feeling well enough to drive back today so we're staying an extra day. Thanks so much for looking after Clementine, and I promise we'll be back in time before your spring break." She starts laughing towards the end of the message.  
"Message two. Left at 11:19 p.m." The answering machine states again.  
"Oh my god, finally! I don't know if you've tried to reach us; all the calls are getting dropped. They're not letting us leave, and...aren't telling us anything about Atlanta. Please, _please_ , just leave the city and take Clementine with you back to Marietta. I've...I've gotta get back to the hospital. Please let me know that you're safe!" The woman's voice says frantically.  
"Message three. Left at 6:51 a.m."  
"Clementine, baby?" The mother sobs. "If you can hear this, call the police. That's 9-1-1. We love you...we love you... we love yo-" The message cuts off suddenly, causing a visibly shaken Cry to shudder. You would be lying if you said a shiver didn't go down your spine too.  
"Jesus..." you whimper, holding back tears. It reminds you too much of the last call you ever heard from your parents.  
" _Daddy_?" a voice crackles from the walkie talkie in your pocket.  
"Huh?" Lee furrows his eyebrows. You take it out in confusion.  
"Hello?"  
" _You need to be quiet. All of you._ " The voice - a girl - warns you. She sounds nervous, like you might hurt her.  
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" You ask, worried.  
_"I-I'm okay. They tried to get me. But I'm hiding until my parents come home."_  
"What's your name, honey?"  
_"I'm Clementine. This is my house." ___  
"Hi, Clementine. That's a really pretty name. I'm Sugar, and the men I'm with are called Lee and Cry. I'll let them introduce themselves so you can tell them apart." You hold the walkie out for the men to identify themselves to her.  
"Hi. I'm Lee."  
"Hiya, kid. My name's Cry."  
" _Hi, everyone._ "  
"How old are you?" Cry says gently.  
" _I'm eight. How old are you guys?"_  
"I'm twenty-seven, Sugar is twenty-two, and Lee is thirty-seven."  
"Where are your parents?" Lee asks, concerned.  
" _They took a trip and left me with Sandra. They're in Savannah, I think. Where the boats are?_ Her cute little voice raises at the end in a questioning tone.  
"Are you safe?" You fret, pacing into the kitchen and staring out the window. The boys start wandering around the house, constantly glancing at you to make sure you're okay. You think you see them going upstairs.  
" _I'm outside, in my treehouse. They can't get in._ " The treehouse door opens and a familiar, adorable little girl pokes her head out. " _Can you see me? I can see you._ " She waves, and you smile, waving back as gently as possible with your injured arm. Her eyes widen and she screams.  
"Huh-" You turn around to find a walker five inches away from your face. You shriek and grip it's arms, forcing it away. You slip on the blood, fall to the ground and start crawling away frantically.  
The walker groans and grips your foot. It manages to pull you towards it and in starts crawling on top of you. The sliding door opens.  
"Here!" Clementine whimpers, holding out a hammer. You kick the zombie in the face, away from you  
" **Sugar!** " Cry yells, dashing downstairs, he and Lee having heard all the commotion.  
You reach back and grab the hammer, ignoring the throbbing pain in your injured arm, bashing the zombie in the face.  
It rolls over and you stand on it's chest, holding it down. You hit it once, twice, three more times, before digging the spikes of the hammer into it's face, killing it once and for all.  
Cry runs towards you and hugs your shaking form tightly.  
You heave a trembling breath and pull away, facing the little girl.  
"Hi there." You say in a strained voice. Clementine bites her lip and looks down, stepping away from the spreading pool of blood around the head of the walker who you assume was her babysitter.  
"Did you kill it?" She asks quietly, afraid that it's going to jump up and eat her.  
"I...think something else did. But Sugar killed the monster that she turned into." Lee assures her.  
"It's okay. I think she was a monster too."  
"You've been...all by yourself through this?" You say gently, your heart throbbing for this poor little girl.  
"Yeah. I want my parents to come home now." Her little voice cracks as she's on the brink of tears.  
"I...think that might be a while, hun." Cry says softly, and you're surprised at how... _paternal_ he sounds.  
"Oh." Clementine's voice wobbles.  
"Look, I don't know what happened, but I promise that we'll look after you from now on, okay?" You say, kneeling down to her height. She bites her lip.  
"Okay. What should we do now?"  
You look at Cry and Lee.  
"Well...we have two options. Leave while it's still light or wait until night falls." Lee theorizes.  
"I vote light." Cry interjects. You nod.  
"Me too. Seems safer." You agree. Lee makes a noise of agreement. Clementine looks up at you with her big doe eyes.  
"So we're leaving now?" She asks shakily. You nod sympathetically.  
"Yes, sweetheart. Do you need anything from your treehouse? Food, water, or maybe something important to you?" Clementine nods, tears clinging to her thick eyelashes.  
"C-can I say goodbye to it?" Her voice trembles. You kiss her head.  
"Go ahead, honey."  
"Also, I-I found a dog before you got here. He's up there."  
You gasp. "A dog?"  
"Mhmm. Shall I get him?"  
"P-please do."  
Within seconds, your old greyhound is in your arms (or arm), woofing happily and licking your happy tears away.  
"Speedy, Speedy, Speedwagon." You croon, laughing shakily. Misha barks, having been untied, and circles around you happily. Cry and Lee both smile.  
"I'm glad you've got him back." Cry says gently, touching the spot between your shoulders.  
"Shall we go?" Lee asks, and you stand up, clumsily clipping Speedwagon's leash on with one hand.  
"Let's go."  



	3. Chapter 3

Clementine grips Cry's hand tightly within her right, holding yours in her left, as your own left arm is injured. Lee lags behind a little, limping and holding the leashes of your dogs, who follow along silently. You're grateful that he offered to take them. As you reach the gates, you can see two guys struggling to push a car out of the way.   
Cry glances at you. _"Shawn and Chet."_ He mouths silently, flicking his head towards them. You nod in recognition. You know those guys.   
"Maaaaan..." Shawn groans, unknowing that you're behind the gate.  
"I ain't never gettin' home to mama at this rate..." Chet grumbles.  
Clementine hesitates, and you look down at her in concern.  
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" You ask quietly.  
"Should I stay?" She mumbles.  
"What?" Cry whispers.  
"I-I don't wanna sleep in the treehouse tonight, but I don't know if I should leave. What if my parents come home?" She sniffles. You bite your lip. You don't know what happened to her parents - after all, you had only just finished Episode 1 when you passed out and entered this...realm? Video game dimension?  
"I...don't think that's going to happen, sweetie." Cry murmurs comfortingly. He glances up at you meanfully, flicking his eyes in the general direction of the dead undead babysitter. _'Oh. That's what happened.'_  
"Oh." Clementine frowns a little and your heart clenches.  
"Let's go and see those guys, okay? They could help us get out, right?" You ask, already knowing the answer. Yeah. They're gonna help. And you're gonna have to make a huge decision that, in the end, _doesn't even fucking matter_.  
Cry pushes open the gates with his free hand.  
"Hey, man!" Lee calls, and the men whip around in fright.  
"Holy shit!"  
"Don't eat us!"  
"Calm down, we're not gonna hurt you." You roll your eyes. The skinny one - Shawn - exhales in relief.  
"Phew. Thought for a minute you were all gonna give us the chomp."  
"Do you know what the hell this is?" You ask.  
"No idea! So you've seen them, then?" Shawn glances over at a corpse lying on the ground.  
"You...could say that, friend." Cry sighs.  
"I'm Shawn. Shawn Greene." Shawn introduces himself.  
"Lee. These are Cry, Clementine and Sugar." Lee replies.  
Chet - the fatter one, no offence, guy - smiles and kneels to Clementine's height. You guess it's to not seem intimidating. "I'm Chet."  
Clementine smiles shyly, but angles herself slightly behind your body, afraid of strangers.  
"The dogs are Speedwagon and Misha." You say, giving your boys a fond look.  
"We shouldn't be out in the open like this." Shawn hisses. He turns to Cry.  
"How about you help us clear the way and we take you, your girlfriend, your daughter, and your friend out of here, and down to my family's farm? It should be safer there."  
"Oh-I'm not his girlfriend. I'm just a friend. And Clementine is...my little sister." You say quickly, blushing and glancing down at her. To your relief, she takes the hint and nods.  
"Bummer, man." Shawn says jokily to Cry, who flushes red underneath his mask. "Anyway, let's get going. Staying put for too long is a mistake." Lee makes a noise of agreement.  
"You got that right, friend." Cry mutters, still red in the face. He turns to Clementine. "What do you want to do, sweetie?"  
"I..." She bites her lip and turns to her house. She stares imploringly up at Cry.  
Chet's voice startles you. "Them monsters comin'! _We gotta go!_ " The walkers ambling down the street begin to groan.  
"Cry, quick! Let's go!" Shawn places his hands on the car they're trying to move. Cry runs over to join him, and is quickly followed by Lee. They begin pushing the car, and within no time, it's out of the way. You all dash towards their truck, hopping in. You're squashed between Cry and Lee, with Clementine curled up on your lap. Chet clambers into the back, and your dogs leap into the back as well. Shawn begins driving with walkers hot on your heels...hot on your wheels? Sure.  
"Are your parents paying you at all to look after her? Cause after today, they should." He quips, exiting the neighborhood.  
It's nighttime before you get to the farm, winding through a dark cornfield. You shiver, having played too many horror games to know that these are the best spot for monsters.  
You step out of the car and look around the spacious field. It's nice. It smells of animals, and not in a bad way. The sweet, musky smell of horses combined with the refreshing scent of pine needles.  
"Hey, Shawn? I'm gonna run on home. My mama's gonna be in a snit." Chet says.  
"No sweat, man. I'll catch you tomorrow night." Shawn smiles, and you internally wince. One look at Cry shows he's thinking the same. _'No, you won't...'_  
"It was nice...to meet y'all." Chet turns to you and inclines his head, before leaving.  
The door swings open.  
"Thank god you're okay." A grating old man's voice sounds.  
"I was worried it'd be bad here, too." Shawn throws his arms around his father, who pats his back affectionately.  
"Been quiet as usual the past couple days. Ol' Breckon down the way thinks his mare's gone lame, but that ain't nothin' new."  
"I wouldn't have made it back without Chet." Shawn says, waving his hand towards the path Chet had just exited by.  
"Well, I'm glad you took him with you, then." The old man turns his head and spots you, placing his hands in his belt loop and throwing his shoulders back.  
"You've brought a couple'a guests."  
"Your boy is a lifesaver." Lee says quickly, eager to get on his good side.  
"Glad he could be of help to _somebody_." The father says teasingly. "So, it's you, your friend, his wife and their daughter, then? Oh, and the dogs."  
You roll your eyes.  
"Oh, uh, not their daughter. The two girls are sisters, and the guys are just their friends. The dogs belong to the girls, I think?" Shawn explains, turning back to give you a questioning look. You nod. The father doesn't look convinced.  
"Honey, do you know these people?" He asks, kneeling to Clementine's height.  
"Yes." She says shyly, clutching your hand.  
"Okay, then. Well-" He gets back to his feet. "Looks like you hurt your leg pretty bad there." He points to Lee's leg.  
"Yeah, it's not doing so good. But Sugar has hurt her arm, too." Lee says, turning to you.  
"I can help you both. Shawn, run on in and check on your sister. You two, take a seat up on the porch and I'll go see what I have."  
You comply as the father - Hershel, you finally remembered his name - walks inside to get medical supplies.  
"Let's have a look." He says when he returns, and takes Lee's leg in his hands. "Yeah, this is swollen to hell."  
"It's not too bad." Lee lies, wincing as pressure is applied to the wound.  
"Tough guy, huh?" Hershel shakes his head. "I heard the girl is called Sugar," You exhale in annoyance when he raises his eyebrows, "But what did you say your name was?"  
"It's Lee." Lee says.  
"Nice to meet you, Lee. I'm Hershel Greene." Hershel begins wrapping the wound. Lee grunts in pain.  
"How'd this happen?" Hershel asks, rather robotically, you think.  
"Car accident." Lee states matter-of-factly.  
"That so?" Hershel sounds unimpressed. "Where were you headed? Before the car accident."  
"Home."  
"Where's home?"  
"I grew up in Macon. We...hit a guy, one of those things you've been hearing about, on the road."  
"Who were you travelling with, these guys?"  
"Nobody." Lee bluffs.  
"Is that so." Hershel doesn't look convinced, yet again.  
"Yeah, it is." Lee narrows his eyes.  
"You said 'we', that's all. House is full up with mine. We've got another displaced family of three sleeping in the barn, along with another couple. You and your group are welcome to rest there when we're done here." Hershel offers, moving on to place your arm in a makeshift sling. He turns back to Clementine, giving her a fatherly smile.  
"I didn't catch your name, darlin'. Or yours." He says, looking up at Cry, who's standing next to her with a protective hand on her shoulder.  
"Clem-Clementine. This is Cry." She says shyly.  
"Can't imagine what you've been through, Clementine. Good thing you have your sister and her friends to look after you." He returns to wrapping your arm.  
"Yeah...I need to protect her, you know?" You say quietly. "Until I find...our parents."  
"Fair enough." Hershel concedes, finishing wrapping up your arm. "Try movin' that."  
You gently move your arm in the sling and wince. "Ow!"  
"Yeah, seems like it's broken, or at the very least, sprained or fractured. You'd best keep it as still as possible for the next few days. Weeks, if possible, but with the way the world is goin', don't think that'll work out."  
"Okay..." You are a bit unsure of his methods, wrapping your arm before knowing what is wrong, but you'll go with it.  
Out of nowhere, Shawn emerges from the house, flashing a grin at Cry before turning to his father, suddenly serious.  
"Hey Dad, so I'm thinking, first thing tomorrow, we gotta reinforce the fence around the farm."  
"That doesn't seem necessary." Hershel rolls his eyes and shakes his head.  
Shawn draws himself up and takes a step forward. "I don't know what you saw on TV, or heard on the radio, but there's some serious..." He glances towards Clementine and lowers his voice. "... _shit_ hitting the fan." Out of the corner of your eye, you see Clementine recoil when she hears the curse word, even as quiet as it was. You're thankful that he at least bothered to lower his voice, and you grin at him gratefully. He smiles and continues. "I don't think anyone knows how big it is yet."  
"Your son is right. You're going to want to fortify this place." Lee protests.  
"Stuff like that doesn't happen around here, Shawn." Hershel looks up from checking your sling and glares at his son halfheartedly.  
"Dad, I'm serious!" Shawn pleads, before turning to you. "Sugar, come on! Tell him what you saw out there, ma'am!" You bite your lip and sigh.  
"I got tackled to the floor by Clementine's undead babysitter and had to fend her off. I would have died if it wasn't for Clem." You say bluntly.   
Hershel heaves a sigh and gives in. "Well, do what you think you should. We've got _plenty_ of chores as it is." Something in the way he speaks makes you think that you're not excepted from these chores.  
"These guys and the folks out in the barn can help in the morning. We gotta do it, really." Shawn continues.  
"I already said okay!" Hershel says loudly, before turning back to you, voice turning softer. It seems as though he's already getting fond of you and Clementine. "Well, I'm all done here. Should start to feel a little better in the morning, if you rest it. Same with you." He turns to Lee.  
"Thanks." Lee says meekly.  
"If your leg gets hot or the swelling doesn't go down; you're probably dealing with an infection."  
Lee furrows his brow. "What do we do then?" He asks, voice filled with dread. You have a feeling you know what the answer is.  
"We'll probably just have to shoot you." Hershel grins, hand forming a gun shape. _'Is this guy some form of sadist?!'_ Behind him, Clementine gasps and clings to Cry, who pats her hair soothingly, looking shocked himself. You tense, hand coming up to grab Lee's sleeve.  
"We'll clean it, re-dress it, and you'll be fine." Hershel shakes his head, and you shakingly exhale, relaxing your grip. It was just a joke, thank god.  
"Okay, that'd be preferable." Lee sighs.  
Hershel glances at Cry and Clementine, noting how the former is holding the latter in a protective way. He smiles to himself.  
"There's blankets and such in the barn. We'll be seeing you bright and early." He turns to you. "Come tomorrow, which way do you think you're headed?"   
"Towards Macon, I guess. Looking for Lee's family." You rest your chin in your good hand.  
"Alright then." He says, and with a final wave in Clementine's direction, he's inside to his warm bed and comfortable room, most likely.  
"Okay then." You sigh, and Cry bounds towards you, helping you up with a warm arm around your waist.  
"I can walk, you know. Help Lee." You tease, bumping his hip with your own - your left hip. He's on the same side of your bad arm. He laughs, a nice, warm sound that makes you feel strange. Good strange, though...strange good.  
"I'm fine." Lee protests, standing up on his own and testing his leg.  
"You sure, friend?" Cry glances towards Lee, mouth pressed in a firm line.  
"Yeah."  
Clementine rushes to your side - the side of your good arm - and grips your hand. She gently tugs, and you look down at her. She beckons you down to whisper in your ear.  
"I like the idea of you being my sister. Can you keep calling me Clem?" She whispers shyly and you giggle.  
"Alrighty then!" You press a kiss to her unruly mop of hair. "Come on, Clemmy Clue!" You coo, making her laugh at the silly nickname.  
Cry glances at you, a shy grin forming on his face as you're totally focused on the eight-year-old next to you. He blushes slightly behind his mask.  
 _'How cute..._


	4. Kenny, Katjaa, Duck and...who now?

You lie down on the floor of the dark, pungent barn, Clem curled tightly into your side. You have a protective arm draped under her neck, stroking her unruly hair. Your bad arm is situated on top of you, in your makeshift sling. Speedwagon and Misha lie against your back.  
Cry is lying on Clem's other side, with Lee beside him.  
Straw pokes into your face and makes you sneeze. Clementine wrinkles her nose.  
"It smells like..." She pauses, glancing up at you.  
Cry chuckles to himself. You narrow your eyes. _Don't you dare..._ "Shi-"  
"Manure." You cut him off, glaring playfully at him. He smirks at you, baring his teeth in a grin.  
"Like...when a horse plops?" Clementine asks innocently. Cry cackles.  
"Yeah. Exactly like that." You reply, girnning.  
Clementine yawns. "I miss my mom and dad." She whispers.  
"I bet, honey." You say, resting your chin atop her head.  
"How far is Savannah?"  
"Pretty far."  
"Oh. Okay."  
All is quiet for a few minutes, and you feel Clementine relax against you, her breathing slowing down.  
_'What an adorable little girl...'_  
Cry glances at her and pats her head, before curling his fingers through yours, most likely as a comforting gesture, and dropping off to sleep himself.  
It's just you and Lee for a few minutes.  
"Good night, Sugar." His voice cuts through the still, peaceful blackness of the autumn night.  
"Good night, Lee. Sleep well." You reply.  
Lee is soon asleep, but his breathing is ragged and harsh.  
_'He must be in pain...from his leg.'_ You think to yourself, and try to relax yourself and fall asleep.  
The dull pain of your arm, throbbing through your veins, seems to have other plans. You sigh.  
_'Welp. I'm not going to get to sleep at this rate.'_  
The endless night stretches on...and on. Faint hoots haunt your ears, and the quiet chirping of crickets create a little ambience for you to enjoy. You angle your head up, staring at the inky black sky through the open barn door, dotted with white, twinkling pinpricks.  
_'How beautiful...'_ You sigh. It's a full moon. You can look at the sky tonight and almost convince yourself that the world is okay. That the world is normal.  
The faint groans of the undead, probably miles away, tell you otherwise. There must be a lot of them, if they're able to reach your ears from so far away. A warm, tingling feeling pricks the back of your eyelids, and you bury your nose into Clementine's hair.  
The world is so beautiful. How is this fair?  
Tears slide down your peaky face.  
_'Why, why, **why?'**_  
The warm, soft pressure of Cry's calloused fingers, linked between your own, keep you grounded. You squeeze his hand, a small smile playing on your lips as he returns the favour, even though he's asleep.  
_'Even when he's asleep, he's there...'_  
You yawn, tired eyes gently sliding shut as you finally enter the soft, sweet abyss of sleep.  
.  
.  
.  
Until you're rudely awakened by a startled grunt.  
You make a noise of annoyance, before opening your eyes slightly. Lee is awake, sitting up and holding his head in his hands. His breathing is ragged, figure trembling as he holds himself together.  
"Lee?" Your voice is groggy and low as you call out to him.  
"Sugar." He says monotonously, surprisingly calm. It's not a question. It's more of a statement.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Nightmare."  
"Understandable. Do you need anything?"  
"No. Good night, Sugar. Sleep well."  
"You too...or at least, try to. Good night, Lee."  
You shut your eyes again, mind becoming numb as you drop off into sleep again.

"Hey, get up." A Floridian accent jolts you awake, and you see a redneck guy with a handlebar moustache standing over you, blocking out the sun's rays.  
You shuffle to your feet. Clementine and the men are already standing.  
"I'm itchy." She complains, scratching her arm.  
"Well, you slept in a barn, little lady! Lucky you don't have spiders in your hair." He jokes. Clementine squeals in fright.  
"But I bet your mommy scared them all away, huh?" The dude grins at you.  
"I'm, uh, not her mom. I'm her sister, actually. Name's Sugar."  
"I'm Kenny. The other guys already introduced themselves." The guy says, and you smile internally. _'Of course you are...'_  
A small kid ducks his head around the open door of the barn.  
"Dad! We're gonna build a fence! There's a tractor and everything!" He says breathlessly. Your lips turn up involuntarily. _'Aw, Duck...'_  
Nobody else really liked him in their playthroughs, but you thought he was a cute kid. He was pretty adorable. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Cry stifle a grin. _'Oh yeah, Cry liked Duck...'_  
"Well, we'd better get goin', or we won't hear the end of it." Kenny sighs, and you all walk out of the barn.  
"That's my boy, Ken Jr. We call him Duck, though."  
"Dodging or quacking?" You ask, grinning.  
"Quacking." Kenny says abruptly, a chuckle in his voice.  
" _Daaa-aad!_!" Duck squawks.  
"Eh, point taken." You concede, smirking.  
"Word is, you guys were on your way to Macon." Kenny states.  
"My family is from there." Lee explains.  
"Well, Macon's on the way, and I'd appreciate the company of some guys who could, uh, _knock a couple'a heads together_ , if he has to?" It's an offer, a kind offer at that, seeing as you're complete strangers.  
"We'll..." Cry and Lee glance at each other. "We'll see what the girls would like." Cry grins.  
"Ah. Gotta consult the missuses. I understand." Kenny grins at you. You reach the front of the house, and see a blonde woman lovingly stroking Duck's cheek. Katjaa, you think her name is. She's with an unfamiliar man and woman who have their backs to you. They're not from the game.  
"Honey, Duck, this is Sugar, Lee and Cry, and uh...what's the girl's name?" At the name 'Cry', the unknown guy tenses up, but shrugs it off.  
Clementine edges behind you. You smile reassuringly down at her. "Clementine."  
"Clementine." Kenny finishes.  
"That is a very pretty name." Katjaa sends Clementine a soft look.  
"Thanks." Clem mumbles.  
"Welp, I'm Felix, and this is my girlfriend, Marzia!" The unknown guy whips around, grinning. When he sees Cry, his face is frozen in the biggest smile you've ever seen. _'No way...'_  
"Whuh- _Cry_! So it _is_ you!" He cheers. You blink. _'PewDiePie?'_  
"Pewds!" Cry grins behind his mask.  
"Bro! I missed ya!" Felix chants, hugging the masked man, but notices you. "Who's this? Your giiiiiiiiirlfrieeeeeeeeeeeend?" He draws the word out. You roll your eyes and blush.  
"Dude - no! She's a friend!" Cry yelps, face bright red. "Why does this keep happening?"  
"That reaction though." Marzia - CutiePieMarzia - says matter-of-factly in her adorable voice, grinning.  
"She's, uh, SugarSkull1995." Cry explains. Felix gasps dramatically.  
"No. Way. Bro." He stares at you wildly.  
"Oh you're kidding." You stare back. "Pewds watches my channel too?"  
"Bro. Bruh. Brah. We both do. Me and Marzia. And so do a lot of the others - Jack, Mark, Minx...ya know."  
"Oh fuck...fuckfuckfuck, you're kidding. I can't believe this." You let out a shrill laugh, shocked. "No shit?"  
"No! No shit. I told you I was a huge fan, right? So surely I'd show my best friend what I like, and he showed his buddies, and...yeah." Cry trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.  
Kenny stepped in. "You guys know each other?"  
"Um...in..." You hesitate. "In a way, I guess?"  
"It's...complicated." Cry adds. " _Reeeeal_ complicated."  
"Fair enough." Kenny shrugs. "I won't pry."  
"Well, we should get to work. We've all seen what those things can do out there, so the faster we get this fence up, the better." Shawn begins, walking up to your cozy little group.  
"I wanna build a fence!" Duck chants.  
"Yeah? Well, I need a good foreman. You can sit on the tractor and yell at me whenever I take a water break." Shawn chuckles, ruffling Duck's hair.  
"On the tractor? Cool!" Duck grins.  
"Duck and I will hop to it." Shawn says, before walking off to the corner, enthusiastic little Duck hot on his heels.  
"I can stay with the girls here on the porch. We can visit." Katjaa offers. You send Cry a small smile before sitting on a hay bale beside the motherly woman. Clementine follows you and perches on your lap, comfortable with your presence already. Marzia sits beside you, strands of her long hair tickling your arm.  
The menfolk all separate, going off to do their separate jobs. Lee goes over to help Shawn, while Cry and Felix stroll over to Kenny and engage in conversation with him.  
"You have very pretty hair." Katjaa breaks the peaceful silence. Clementine smiles.  
"It gets lots of tangles."  
"What grade are you in?" Katjaa asks. Clementine glances up at you.  
"She's in first grade." You explain. Clementine had told you this the day before.  
"How is that?" Marzia smiles at the small girl.  
"It's easy."  
"She's really good at it." You reach up and stroke her fluffy hair.  
"How do you know her, Sugar?"  
"I'm her sister. We have two dogs..." The lie is becoming natural to say. You trail off and catch sight of your dogs. You grin and whistle. "Misha, Speedwagon! Here, boys!" You coo. The dogs rush over and jump onto the hay bale next to you, curling up beside you.  
"Oh, they're lovely." Katjaa holds a hand out and strokes Speedwagon's greying muzzle. "A greyhound and a husky, right? Both pedigree."  
"Yeah. Are you a vet?" You ask, smiling at her.  
"Yes. Yes, I am. What is it that you do, Sugar?"  
"Um, well...it's a little hard to explain. I make videos and post them on a website, and I get paid for it."  
"Oh? What kind of videos?" Katjaa looks confused.  
"Mainly playing video games, but occasionally I also answer my viewers comments. I also sometimes do drawing tutorials." You elaborate.  
"Oh, how interesting!" She has a sparkle in her eye, and unlike most women her age when you say your job, she looks as though she actually means it.  
"I do the same. But I do beauty and makeup, and clothes." Marzia adds in.  
"Oh yeah, and Cry and Felix play games too!" You say. Cry looks at you when he hears his name, and grins, raising his hand in a little half wave. Your cheeks redden slightly and you wave back. _'God, I hope nobody has noticed I'm blushing...'_ Luckily, it didn't seem that anyone did.  
"Clementine, uh, why don't you tell us a little more about first grade?" You ask, ruffling her mop of hair.  
"Uh, o-okay. My teacher is really nice. She took us to the Botanical Gardens a little while back, and she showed us how to do leaf rubbings. I'll do you one if you like!" Clementine turns back to you, smiling.  
"I'd love that, sweet pea." You inwardly squeal. _'God, I love this little girl...'_  
You sit comfortably in silence before you shake your head in distress.  
"It's so pretty here. You could almost pretend that..corpses aren't walking around." You exhale wistfully. "I wonder if it'll ever go back to how it used to."  
"We have to keep up hope, Sugar. It can't stay like this." Katjaa leans forward and touches your knee gently. "May I ask...is Sugar your real name?"  
"Huh?" You blink. "Oh, no. No, no it's not. My real name is a secret, you know? It was a way to keep my home life and career separate. My face was a secret too, like Cry's." You say, pointing at the brunette male, who seems to be zoning out of Kenny's conversation and staring into space, in the general direction of the hay bales you're sitting on.  
"Is there...a romance between you and Cry?" Katjaa asks with interest. Marzia leans closer, a mischeivious twinkle in her eye.  
"N-no, no. He's...I just met him, really, but I've always admired him. He's kind of...famous in his own right." You say quickly, eyes downcast.  
"But there's feelings there?"  
"Not...not necessarily. He's just a friend." You protest.

_Just a really...cute...friend..._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, this time, I'm afraid...  
> Sorry for the long ass wait ;-;

"Hi, girls." Lee ambles up to you, lighter on his feet now that his leg has been sorted.  
"Hey, Lee." You reply, dipping your head at him warmly.  
"Your arm okay, Sugar?" He asks, concerned, and you shrug with your good shoulder.  
"Yeah, it's all okay, I guess. Still hurts like a bi- uh, a biscuit." You steal a glance at Clementine, who luckily does not seem to have noticed your blunder. Lee bites his lower lip to conceal a smirk.  
"You four _actually_ looked relaxed." He sounds surprised.  
"I think we're doing just fine." Katjaa puts in, "Clementine was just telling us about first grade, and Sugar was talking about her work."  
"Oh, uh...what is that?" Lee asks, turning to you again.  
"Uh, online videos and stuff." You say vaguely.  
Lee raises an eyebrow.  
"Pff- not like that! Video games, I mean! I'd never...do _that_ kind of video!" You stutter, cheeks warm. "I swear, man!"  
"Sure, okay." Lee mutters, shoulders shaking in a breathy chuckle. "Sounds fun."  
"Yeah...it was." You say quietly, a sad smile touching your lips. "And you, Lee? I never asked your job."  
"I used to teach up at the University of Georgia." Lee says vaguely.  
"We need to _hope_ that we can go back to our jobs soon, Lee. Back to normal. It can't stay like this." Katjaa says optimistically, and you wince. Yeah...no. Now that you think about it...it's horrible, sitting next to her when you _know_ what's going to happen. Maybe...maybe you can prevent it this time around. You hope so.  
"Huh, yeah, my mistake." Lee falters a little, and you narrow your eyes. Lee catches your gaze and looks confused.  
"We'll all be home soon." Katjaa adds on. Lee bows his head, still meeting your eyes.  
_"I know."_ you mouth at him, and a shocked expression flicks across his face, only to melt away to not rouse suspicion.  
If you don't save Carley this time...well, in your opinion, the outcome is better if he tells everyone the truth.  
You should talk to Cry, Pewds and Marzia about that. Maybe you can save them both if you think fast.  
"So...um, Katjaa said you're in first grade." Lee turns to Clementine. "How is that?"  
"It's easy." She says simply.  
"Well, yeah." Lee responds carelessly, only realizing his mistake when Katjaa shoots him a half-hearted glare. "Sooo...you're good?"  
Clementine bobs her head quickly, and Katjaa gives her a tender smile before looking back up at Lee. "Anyway, it's almost like we didn't see..." her voice trembles, "...people eating each other for the past three days. It's peaceful here, no?"  
You settle into a comfortable silence before Lee pipes up again. "How did you handle getting through the city?"  
"Kenny just...drove." Katjaa replies, and it's evident that she didn't want to go too much into it. "We passed so many people that needed help, and we just...passed people. Over some, just...just..."  
"It's okay, it's fine, you don't have to say any more." Lee says hastily.  
"I want to go home tomorrow, but even then I can't take away the things we - the things _Duck_ \- went through." She closes her eyes, a pained expression crossing her face, and you place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you want to go back to the moment before you knew about all of this?"  
"Anybody in their right mind would." Lee nods.  
"Families and barbeques and beers with good friends." You add dolefully.  
"All of those things." Katjaa says wistfully.  
"Those are the things we live for, right? With those gone, what's the point?" Lee says, rather depressingly, before turning away. "Back in a bit."


	6. Chapter 6

“I'm going to go and see if Shawn wants any help," You say, and leap to your feet, ruffling Clementine's hair.

"Okay, Sugar," Katjaa says, and you step away, passing by Cry and Felix.

A sudden thought crosses your mind. There may be a way to save Shawn if you think about it carefully...and if you all work together.

"Cry, Felix," You call out. "C'mere a second, would you?”

Cry turns his head and grins at you over his shoulder. “Oh, hey, Sugar.” He says and turns to you fully. “What do you need?”

“Just-just come here, the both of you?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Kenny.” Felix apologises, and Kenny waves his hand.

“No problem. Go on ahead.”

You lead the boys somewhere secluded, but not out of view of the others. You have to be careful with timing…you don’t know when the tractor’s going to go.

“What’s up, Sugar?”

“It’s about Shawn. And Duck.” You say, and a flash of recognition passes Felix’s eyes. Cry’s mouth sets into a hard line, not unlike the mouth of his mask.

“Who are you going to go for?” Cry asks, and you sigh.

“Well, I had an idea. Maybe…maybe we can save Shawn.”

“How could we-?” Felix interjects, and you hold up a hand.

“Let me finish. Maybe if we all went for Shawn…if you two pushed the tractor off and I pulled him out, maybe he’d be okay?”

The boys are silent, and Cry opens his mouth, closes it and opens it again.

“What if it fucks up the game?” He asks, and you blanch. Fuck, you hadn’t thought of that.

“Fuck up how?” Felix asks, and Cry shrugs.

“Like, if Shawn survives, Hershel might not kick us out, right? And then the story won’t progress.”

“Shit, you’re right.” You groan and rub your forehead. “Damn it, I really like Shawn, too.”

“Oh.” Cry bites his lip and shakes his head. “Look, let’s not think about it now. Let’s–”

“AAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!”

You jump at the sound of a pained scream.

“Shit!” Felix squeals and you turn around.

“Looks like now would be a good time to think about it!” You shoot at them and sprint towards the tractor.

 _‘Fuck, fuck fuck fuck no,_ ’ you think. _‘I don’t wanna be too late…’_

Shawn is trapped under the tractor, screaming in pain and fear as walkers’ claw at the fortified fence, trying to get to him. If he gets out of this alive, his leg’s going to be useless. A tractor of that weight would shatter all of the bones in his leg.

But you’re damned well going to try.

Duck yelps in fear as one of the walkers seizes his shoulders and pulls him towards it, snapping its rotten teeth at his pale neck.

You think fast and run towards Shawn, grabbing his wrists and ignoring the burn you feel from your arm, and shout at Lee. “Lift the tractor!”

Lee obliges, coming to your side and gripping the bottom of the tractor, lifting with all of his strength. He pales, a thin sheen of sweat sticking his hair to his forehead as he puts all of his weight on his injured leg.

Kenny runs forward and grabs Duck, carrying him to safety, and Cry appears at your side.

“I’ve got it,” He says, relieving your injured arm from the strain.

Slowly but surely, Shawn slides from underneath the tractor, and you feel sick with relief. You saved him.

“I got you,” Cry says. “I got you.”

Shawn drops to the ground with a huge exhalation of relief from his pain.

“Christ, Cry, man, thank yo-”

There’s a snap as the fence gives in, and a walker stumbles forward, descending on Shawn.

Cry yells out in shock, and you, thinking quickly, grab him and pull him away. Away from Shawn, away from the open, away from the walker. So long as he’s safe.

“Shawn,” Cry says, “Oh, god.” He’s shaking. He wraps his arms around you and buries his face in your hair, so he doesn’t see Shawn’s face of horror as the walker rips into his neck.

“Christ,” You swallow, feeling bile rise.                        

The door swings open and Hershel joins you, a look of dismay filling his face, before being replaced with a grieving rage as he shoots the walkers in their heads. He runs to his son’s side and kneels, stroking his hair and shushing him.

“It’s worse in real life,” Cry mumbles into your hair. “Fuck, it’s so much worse.”

“I know, I know.” You soothe him, hand running through his hair. “Shh, it’s okay.”

“They almost- they almost got me, man,” Shawn says, going delirious from blood loss, “Lee, Sugar and Cry tried to save me, they got me out from under there, dad.”

Hershel glances at you and Cry, and back down to his son. “I know, son. I know.”

“I…” Shawn starts, but before he can finish, his eyes dull and he lets out one final breath.

All is quiet. Clementine wriggles between you and Cry so she’s encased in your embrace as well, hiding her tear-stained face against Cry’s hoodie.

Hershel stumbles to his feet. “Get out.” He mutters darkly. When he gets no response, he whips around. _“GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!”_ He screams.

“I’m sorry,” Kenny says, shoulders slumped.

 _“Sorry?!_ Your son’s alive, you don’t _get_ to be sorry!” Hershel growls. He turns to you. “You tried to save him, but this piece of shit let him die!”

“Hershel, I’m so sorry, we tried.” You say.

“Look at him.” He points at his son, but his angered gaze is directed towards Kenny, not you. He turns around, so you can’t see his tears. “Just go. Get out, and never come back.”

There’s a mournful silence before Kenny turns to your little group. “You’ve got that ride to Macon if you want it.” He says quietly.


	7. Chapter 7

The car is silent while Kenny is driving.

You're all squashed up to preserve a much space as possible; Clementine is perched on your knee, arms wound tightly around your neck, and Marzia is sitting on Felix's lap - a suggestion he wiggled his eyebrows at when it was suggested and drew half-hearted laughs from the rest of the group. You're squashed into Cry's side and the car door, too, and Duck is sitting on his mother's lap in the front seat. The dogs are curled at your feet, Misha's muzzle snuffling at your uninjured hand.  
Lee is pressed up against the other car door, and he keeps stealing glances at you, mouth set in a hard line as you know he wants to ask how you know about him and what he did.

You're really not looking forward to that conversation, truth be told.

The car jolts to a shuddering stop in the middle of a junction, and Kenny sighs.

"Well, this is as far as we're goin'." He says, and you all take that as your cue to step out of the car and grant your aching limbs a long-overdue stretch.

"Then it's far enough." Lee agrees. His eyes flick to a building far off in the corner and his face drops. You follow his gaze and see what he's looking at; the Everett Pharmacy.

You walk to his side, placing a hand on his arm. "Maybe they're okay," You say optimistically. "Your parents, I mean. And your brother."

"I hope so," Lee mutters quietly back to you. "But we've gotta talk about how you know-"

"Look!" Duck calls, pointing to the figure of a grubby man, rooting in the trash.

"Careful, Kenny." You warn, seeing the aforementioned moustache man open his mouth. "He might be one of the dead ones."

"We gotta take chances." He says and waves his arms at the (probable) zombie. "Hey there! You friendly? Truck's run outta gas."

The guy turns around, revealing a rotten face with puffed gums. Flesh is caught between his brownish teeth. A loud strangled moan rips from the dead man's bloodied lips.

"Oh, fuck!" Cry hisses as more zombies emerge from beneath cars and around corners, enticed by Kenny's loud voice.

Everyone backs away slowly, closing in together.

"We're trapped!" Katjaa wails as the zombies enclose you.

You pull Clem even closer to you. "I got you, honey." You whisper, and she squeezes your hand, trembling. Cry retreats towards you, moving his hand towards your shoulder and squeezing.

"What do you have to defend yourself?" He urges quietly, and you check your pockets.

"Fuck, I-I got nothing, Cry."

"No guns, or-or like, like anything?"

"No, I don't know when we get our first gun in the game but...but there's the mission with Glenn, remember?" You say, careful not to let Clem hear while still keeping your wits about you.

"WAAH!!" Duck squawks, and you whip your head around just in time to see him get tackled to the floor by the very same walker that Kenny accidentally hailed.

"No!" growls Cry, ripping his hand from your shoulder and fully prepared to pull the walker off with his bare hands if he had to. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF DUCK!"

"AHHH! NO! NO!!!" Duck continues screaming.

The walker drops to the ground with a loud bang and a bullet rips through his skull, saving Duck from a gnarly fate as he slides from underneath the finally truly dead corpse, eyes wide and panicked.

The gun-holder is a Caucasian woman with cropped brown hair, wearing a tattered white dress shirt and an expression of fierce determination. You gasp - Carley was one of your favourites in what you've played so far, and from everything that Pewds has told you, if you save her, you get the opportunity for Lee to tell everyone about his past.

Kenny pulls his wife and son into an embrace, thanking whatever is above that they're safe. Carley shoots off more rounds, nailing them each and every time.

'I've gotta get her to teach me that,' you think, fascinated.

Cry glances towards you and his throat tightens as he sees a walker stumble behind your oblivious form, with you holding your injured arm.

"FUCK! SUGAR, WATCH OUT!" He cries, and you whip your head around and shriek in terror. You stumble, arm coming up to protect your defenceless frame, when-

Speedwagon leaps up, his old body easily pushing the thin corpse down, and latches his teeth into the walker's neck, growling.

"Run!" An Asian guy - Glenn - calls out.

"C'mon," Cry is at your side, arm around you and slightly lifting you, "I got you, Speedwagon's okay. Look, he's got it covered."

Sure enough, when you're finally indoors, Speedwagon bounds in seconds later, a smug look on his greying muzzle. You fall to your knees, a loud sob ripping from your throat as you check him over for injuries. He's fine, you note with a sigh of relief, he's okay.

"We can't take risks like this," Barks a different brown-haired girl. Ah, Lilly.

"And we can't just let people die, either!" Carley protests.

"When I say 'that door stays shut no matter what', I fucking mean it!" Lilly snaps. "We don't know who these people are; they could be dangerous!"

An older man steps up. "Worse, they could have lead 'em right to us!" he growls.

"They would have died out there!" Carley hisses.

"We have kids with us!" Lee pleads.

"I see ONE little girl." Larry - the old guy - points at Clementine, who shuffles closer to you and puts her hand in yours.

"What is it?" You whisper to her, and she grimaces awkwardly.

"I-I have to pee." She mumbles and you groan quietly. Cry stiffens by your side and when you glance up at him you see a mirthful smile beneath his mask.

"Come on, then." You say, tugging her to the WC in the corner. You feel Lilly's eyes on your back as you take her, but you're pretty sure she stopped after she saw where you were headed.

"They've got kids, Lilly," Glenn says.

"Those things out there don't care." Lilly retorts.

"Maybe you should go join 'em then. You'll have something in common." Kenny growls.

"Goddamnit Lilly! You have to take control of these people!"

"Carley and Glenn just ran out there!" Lilly defends herself to her dad.

"I don't give a flying fuck!"

"She's the leader here," Lee states, "But it looks like she's losing control of her people."

"If you were in my shoes, you'd be the-"

"Ho-ly shit," Larry puffs. "Son of a bitch! One of them is bitten!"

You sigh. You honestly can't be bothered with this right now. You place a hand on the doorknob and jiggle it. It doesn't budge.

You hear a thud from inside.

"Lee!" Clementine calls, interrupting their spat over Duck's fate.

"Yeah?" Lee responds, looking over at the pair of you.

"There's someone in there!" You say back, biting your lip.

"It's just locked. Key's behind the counter. Probably."

You pat Clementine's head and dart behind the counter, fumbling for the keys.

"Ah!" You hold them up and go back to Clementine, pausing for a second to hear the fight.

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here! I'm just looking out for my daughter!" Larry says, untruthfully.

"No, you're just the guy arguing for killing a kid!" Kenny accuses.

"He's covered in muck! She'll find the bite. WATCH."

"She won't!"

"And if she does?" Larry says, and Kenny blanches. "The first thing he'll do is sink his teeth into his mom's face. And then, he'll probably pounce on your little girl." He calls over at you, and you scoff and place the key into the lock. "She'll turn fast, and then there'll be three."

"He's a little boy! I think we can handle him!" Cry remarks.

"A little boy? He'll be an uncontrollable man-eater!"

"It's not gonna happen!" Kenny seethes.

"It is, and we're tossing him out now!"

You pull open the door just as Lee urges Kenny to knock Larry out.

The door tumbles open as if something - someone - is pressed against it. Clementine falls back with a scream as a walker stumbles out of the bathroom. You think fast and push her back, moving in front so the dead man falls on you rather than her. Your head thumps against the floor painfully and your eyes swim with tears. The room erupts into chaos.

"NO!" You hear from the corner. "GET OFF SUGAR, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Cry growls, running forward only for Larry to stop him. "LET ME GO, YOU SADISTIC BASTARD!"

You struggle with all of your strength, pushing the walker up so it's snapping jaws are as far away as you can get - which is only an inch. "Fuck, fuck, HELP ME!" You shriek, a sudden terror flooding your body.

The weight is suddenly gone, and you see Lee above you grappling with the walker, pulling it off, saving you.

"Lee...!"


	8. Chapter 8

He struggles, the walker gnashing its teeth towards his neck.

"Lee-!" You try to call out, shifting and reaching towards the man wrestling with the walker, but you find yourself yanked back into a warm pair of arms and against a beating chest.

"You gotta breathe," the person holding you grunts. "Breathe, Sugar." Their words come crashing down on you along with the realisation that you're shaking, and your chest is swelling and sinking too quickly and too shallowly.

It hurts to breathe, it hurts to think, it hurts to anything, why can't you just _breathe?_

"C'mon," The voice says, "You got this. Breathe."

"I-I can't," you cry back, twisting in their arms. "I-I almost, it, it almost..."

"I know, I know," the voice hushes. Something warm touches your forehead and you quiver. "It's okay, Lee saved you, you're okay."

You feel firm hands on your back and hip as you get rocked quietly to and fro.

It's warm, everything's warm and black and scary.

You recoil further back into the embrace as the air shatters with a loud gunshot which jolts you back to reality.

The first thing you truly recognise is that your arm hurts.

The second thing you realise is that you're in someone's arms, someone whose breath is steady in your ears which in turn makes you realise that you'd just had a panic attack.

You can see it all, finally, the paled hands holding you and the dead man on the floor and the woman holding the gun.

Carley's hand is steady, but her wide eyes betray her as she lowers the gun to the floor, staring at the body of the walker on the ground.

"You okay?" She questions Lee, who sighs and heaves himself to his feet.

"Just great, thanks."

"And the girl?" She asks, her gaze focused somewhere above you.

"Yeah, she's okay," Cry's trembling voice comes from above your head, and a warmth floods your body as you identify the voice and realise he was the one who held you to ward off your panic. "She's a bit shaken, but she's not hurt." He rests his cheek on your forehead, the bottom of his mask digging into the top of your head.

"I don't blame her," Carley says, and a breath of air whooshes past your ear as Cry laughs humourlessly. 

"Uh...guys?" Glenn whispers, stock still as his eyes search the ceiling.

There's a plethora of groans and snarls as walkers are drawn to the sound of Carley's gun, scratching at the walls and windows. 

You hold your breath and shift closer to Cry, who in turn tightens his hold on you. Clementine drops to her knees beside you and presses herself against your back. You can feel the rapid pace of her heart against your spine, and Cry loosens one arm to clasp her tiny hand. Your arm aches like hell. 

"Everybody down! Stay QUIET!" Lilly hisses, and drops behind a shelf, next to her dad, who lifts his head above the shelf with an expression you would laugh at if you weren't in mortal peril.

"They're gonna get in," Larry whispers to Kenny.

"Shut UP," growls Kenny, holding his family close.

Doug perks up as a sudden round of shots fire fast in succession, somewhere outside. The attention of the walkers is thankfully averted.

"Is that the military?" Lee asks, his voice loud compared to the previous whisperings, notwithstanding the fact that he's still rather quiet.

"I don't know," Lilly shrugs.

"Thank god for whatever it is," Glenn says from his crouched position on the ground.

Larry takes the louder voices as his cue to start bitching. "We almost DIED because of this bitch and her itchy trigger finger!" He lashes out, his face turning puce. "That was stupid, th-that was-" He falls back with a cry of pain, clutching at his chest as he collapses.

"DAD!" Lilly shrieks, running to his side.

"Was HE the one bitten?!" Lee demands and Lilly scowls at him.

"No! Don't be crazy! It's his heart!" She explains sharply.

"My pills..." Larry groans.

"Uh-um...nitroglycerin pills?" Katjaa asks.

"Yes! We're out. We've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here. Please, try to get in there! Behind the counter, where the pills are!" Lilly pleads.

 _'_ _And why should we do that?'_ You think wryly, _'you and your dad were being assholes earlier.'_

However, you know Lee is a kind man. Too kind for his own good. And, dammit, Lilly's not so bad once you get used to her, from what you know.

"There's probably another entrance," Lee says. "Maybe through the office."

"How do you know that's an office?" Carley asks accusingly, glaring in Lee's direction.

"Uh..." Lee's mind blanks as he tries to think of an excuse. "Educated guess."

"It doesn't matter," Lilly says. "We need nitroglycerin pills. Please get in there. I'll keep an eye on my dad."

Kenny steps up. "Everyone else should get comfy and look for anything useful. We could be in here a while." He orders.

"I'm starting to think this drugstore isn't a permanent solution," Glenn says sardonically.

"You're right," Kenny agrees, "This ain't exactly Fort Knox."

"What do you suggest?" Lee asks Glenn. The Asian boy looks to him.

"We need as much gas as possible so we can ALL get out of downtown Macon. Fast." Glenn proposes.

"Agreed." Lee nods his head.

"Then I'll head out and get gas." Glenn offers. "There's a motel not too far from here, out towards the end of Peachtree. I'll work my way towards it and then loop back, syphoning what I can."

"You're insane." Cry accuses, finally heaving himself - and you, for that matter - up into a standing position.

"Well, it's gotta get done," comes his reply. "Plus, I'm quick, and I know Macon."

"Local?" Lee asks, seemingly interested, but you know that he's worried about being recognised.

"Born and raised." Glenn grins back at him.

"Hey, man, if you're gonna do that, here's a walkie-talkie if you get in a trouble. Though...I hope you won't need it." You hand the talkie over to Glenn, who puts it in his jacket pocket and grins at you.

"Cool."

"Clemmy has the other one," You say, pointing to the little girl who shyly gazes at her feet. "Check in with her and get back here as soon as you can."

"And you," Kenny points, "what's your name?"

"It's Lilly." She says, "My dad's Larry."

"Keep a good eye on him. These boys will work on getting you your medicine."

"Yeah, that's right," Pewds interjects, the first you've heard from him since entering the pharmacy.

"And you, keep an eye on that front door." Kenny points to Doug. "You're our look-out."

"It's Doug, you got it." Doug nods his head.

"And I'm Carley."

"Okay, Carley. You'll shift in with Doug when he needs it. For now, get some rest. You're a good shot and I'd like to keep it that way."

"You got it, boss." Carley says, sitting down at the counter.

You glance at Lilly to see her face darken.

"Now get him those pills," Kenny says as a finality, and everyone goes to do their respective jobs.

You continue to hold Lilly's gaze until she finally scoffs and looks away, back at her dad.

"Ooooh...she doesn't like that he's now the boss," Cry murmurs to you in a stupid voice, "I saw it in her eyes, women are very jealous."

You snicker, which causes a proud expression to cross his face.

"Energy bars!" He chants, spotting some on a nearby shelf and sprinting over there. "Delicious." He mutters to himself as you step to his side. "This is mine now."

As he's about to put it in his pocket, though, he pauses, studying the bar intently, and turns to you. "Here," He says, holding it out to you, "Like, chocolate and candy can help if you have a panic attack, right? Maybe energy bars work too."

You laugh. "Thanks. That's sweet, Cry."

"It's not sweet. It's energy." He states matter-of-factly, and you giggle.

"Mmkay, got it. Thank you." You say, and kiss his cheek before walking off to join Clementine where she's sitting.

If you had looked behind you, you would have seen his mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out, as a red hue flushed over his face.

But, you didn't. Besides, he was wearing his mask, so you wouldn't have been able to see the blush anyway.

"Thank fuck for this mask," He whispered to himself, before walking over to Pewds.


	9. Chapter 9

Cry runs a hand through his hair, puffing his cheeks out. "Fuuuck..."

"Someone has a cruuu-uuush~!" Pewds teases, and Cry shoves his shoulder.

"Fuck no, man! I met her...what, two, three days ago?" He shoots back. The Swedish man raises his palms in defeat.

"Sure, if you say so." He giggles - yes,  _giggles,_ and skips off to talk to Lee.

* * *

"How're you doing, honey?" You brush a hand through Clementine's hair and hug her as she curls into your side.

"Not so good..." She mumbles, and your smile decreases into a frown.

"Aw, what's up?"

"That was...that was scary, that dead man," She confesses, and you squeeze her shoulder.

"It was, wasn't it?"

"Did he...did it hurt you?" She asks worriedly. You kiss the side of her forehead.

"No. I mean, I fell on my butt, which hurt a little, but I'm okay," You joke, grinning.

"Not the butt!" She says in mock horror. You dissolve into laughter, clutching your side as she starts cackling. Every time you catch your breath, you lock eyes with her again and burst out giggling again. This goes on for a good few minutes.

"What's so funny?" Cry's voice comes from behind you, mock annoyed. When you turn to him, though, you see a goofy grin on his face beneath his mask.

"Clemmy's a comedian," You tell him, voice wobbling with continued hilarity.

"Tell me," He sits in between you and Clementine, glancing between the two of you.

"Nuh-uh. Insiders only!" You stick your tongue out.

"You wouldn't get it," Clem proclaims, and the wounded look on Cry's face makes a laugh bubble out of your throat again.

"Denied!" He chokes out, clutching his heart. "Clemmy, I trusted you!"

"Bad idea," You shake your head. "That was a fatal mistake."

"Fatal, how?" He plays along with possibly the widest grin you'd ever seen on his face.

"Now we have to punish you," Clem says solemnly.

"Wha- punish?" Cry's eyebrows raise above his mask with a smirk, and you slug him once in the shoulder.

"Mind out of the gutter." You hiss, shaking your head with a grin, and he cackles.

"Okay, okay," He raises his hands in failure. "What's my punishment, little princess? What do you and your noble sister sentence me to?"

"Death by tickling."

"Wait, what-"

He has barely time to process what's happening before he feels two sets of fingers scrabbling to his sides. He starts chortling loudly.

"Fu-uck, why?" He snickers, writhing. "Cl-eeeem, pffft- why must you - haha - torture me so?"

"Hey," An Italian voice calls behind you, and you turn to see Marzia with a smile on her face. "As cute as this is, doesn't noise attract those things?"

"Ah, fuck, you're right." You sigh and cease your attack. As you look around, you flush as you realise that everyone seems to be staring at you, some with smiles on their faces and others with looks of pure perplexion,

"Not that- I mean, he laughs loud, but not loud enough to get zombies here. Just to be on the safe side, though."

"For what it's worth," Carley calls over, "it's good to see at least some people can make the best of a bad situation here."

"Thanks."

 After a few moments of awkward silence, you stand up and go to join Marzia, who is in a corner talking to Pewds.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Sugar."

"So...um..." You lower your voice. "How long until Glenn calls, d'you think? Didn't seem to take long in the game, but..."

"Could be any amount of time. Why don't you and Cry take Clemmy into the office-thing to push the shelf out the way?" Pewds suggests.

"Okay, sounds good. And you?"

"We'll talk around. See what people know, and see if anything is different than the game."

"Besides, y'know, the obvious." You say absentmindedly.

"The...obvious?" Pewds furrows his brow.

"Us. I mean, we're different."

"Oh. Yeah." Pewds tilts his head against the wall. "Man, this is so fucking weird, bro."

"No shit." You agree. "Well, thanks, Pewds."

Clementine smiles at you as you approach. "I'm going into the office." You tell her. "Want to come with?"

She eyes the door warily. "Will there be another dead thing in there?"

"There shouldn't be, no. See, the bathroom door was locked so the walker couldn't get out. That door can open easily. It'd have come out here already if there was one."

"Okay." She agrees, still apprehensive.

"I'll join you, too." Cry offers. "Extra manpower."

"Manpower?" You tease. "Are there going to be weights to lift in there?"

"You never know." He shrugs.

* * *

You expect the bloodied bedding. But...

"Oh, God..." You gasp, covering your mouth. The poor Everetts...

"Jesus, the smell." Cry groans, grimacing.

You stare at the stained sheets. "Cry, can you...can you go and tell Lee that..."

"But he-"

"He knows that I know about him. Besides...they were his parents. He needs to know that they're gone."

"Ugh...okay..."

He exits the room, shaking his head morosely. As you stare at the chaos, a small hand slips into yours. Clementine looks up at you with big eyes.

"Hey, sweet pea. You shouldn't have to see this..."

"What were you talking about before?" She blurts. Your eyes widen.

"Huh...?"

"When you said something about Lee's parents."

"Oh, well..." How do you say this to a little girl? "His parents...owned this store. They would have been...hiding in here."

"And the blood means they're dead?"

"Prob...probably."

"Oh." She keeps looking at the bedding. "My parents aren't dead, are they?"

You sigh. "They might be, Clem. You haven't heard from them on your walkie yet?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Well, we'll assume that they're okay. But, you need to be prepared for the knowledge that maybe your parents...aren't okay, in case it ever comes to that. We won't know until we find out for ourselves."

"Okay." She says, downcast. As you peer closer at her face, you see a few teardrops webbed between her eyelashes. Shit... you didn't mean to upset her or make her cry...God, Sugar, change the subject!

"What about Glenn? Have you heard from him yet?"

"No."

"Alright, sweetie. Do you want to go and sit down where we were before?" This was a bad idea...she shouldn't have seen this.

"No. I don't want you to be alone in here. It's sad." 

"Okay...thank you."

Your little conversation is interrupted by two pairs of footsteps, and you turn to see Cry, supporting Lee, who's expression can only be described as grief-stricken.

"Lee..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back, baby! I'm not dead!   
> Sorry about the wait, all! I'm in the middle of exam season right now and I only got a chance to write this up because I'm at home sick right now :(   
> I hope you all enjoy this little update! There'll be a lot of filler. It's kinda slow right now.
> 
> More youtubers will be introduced very soon. I'm excited to show them!
> 
> Thanks for reading, everyone, and thanks for sticking with my awful awful update regime.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lee's a little bit rude in this, but...I mean, his family are dead. He has every right. I made him a little bit more...grieving than in the game.

Lee leans over, resting his face in his hands. "I can't...I can't think about them in here..." He moans in pain, scrubbing harshly at his eyes.

"Lee, man..." Cry begins, putting a hand on his shoulder in understanding. "Take all the time you need to...you know."

"Lilly said that her dad took some bodies - a couple - outside in case they weren't dead," Lee says, muffled by his hands. "If I was here, I'd've...I'd've...fuck, where was Bud? Where was my brother?"

"He...he might have...tried to protect them," Cry says helplessly.

"And _died_ in the process." Lee snaps, clearly not appreciating the other man's input, before staring at the blood stains brokenly. "It looks like one of them was hurt. I wonder if it was my dad. Trying to be a hero, maybe. Or save her, at least."

"They would have fought, Lee." You add quietly. "They were a strong couple."

"Right." Lee turns to you, hard faced. "How do you know about me? About...what I _did_?"

"I was..." You bite your lip. How can you say this without breaking the fourth wall? "I was really into journalism before this. I saw your case in the newspaper and I was intrigued. It was...I don't know. You seemed so normal. It didn't sit right with me. I knew there was a bigger picture to what they were painting you as."

"What were they painting me as?" Lee asks, eyes narrowed.

"...A murderer." You say after a pause.

"You're saying I'm not a murderer?" 

"Murderers are bad people. You...you're not a bad person, Lee." You admit. "You seem like a good guy. You just had...an impulsive moment."

Lee regards you closely, before dipping his head, seemingly satisfied. "Thank you, Sugar."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

The four of you stand in silence for a moment or two, regarding the heavy atmosphere. Lee breaks the silence by turning to Clementine. 

"Have you heard from Glenn?" He asks. Clementine shakes her head.

"Not in a little while." She pipes up, rubbing her bare arms.

"Everyone out there seem alright to you?"

"Yeah. Well, maybe not the sick guy."

"We'll keep an eye on him, honey." You tell her, ruffling her hair...well, hat.

"There was that thing in the bathroom. It tried to get me." She says, her little voice wobbling.

"I know," Lee says, soothingly.

"But you stopped it. You and Sugar."

"Yeah, we did."

"Can you do that...more?" She asks innocently, and Cry stifles a tiny giggle at your side.

"Well, we won't go looking for them," Lee explains. 

"I mean get the dangerous ones."

"We'll try, Clem," Cry interjects. "But...remember, they're all dangerous."

"That's right." You nod solemnly. "So...keep an eye out, okay? They could be behind _any_ door, like earlier."

"Okay." The little girl nods.

Cry curses softly in your ear. " _Goddamnit_ , I love you, Clementine." He whispers so only you can hear, and your face lifts in an automatic smile.

"We'll keep looking around," Lee tells Clementine. She nods again.

You and the two men survey the room, unsure of where to start. Cry makes the first move by swooping over and picking something off of the ground. Lee walks to the barricaded door in the corner and tests the weight of the heavy desk blocking the pharmacy. He's unable to move it.

Clementine stays in her corner, and after a fond pat on the shoulder and a glance in a nearby first aid kit, finding nothing, you walk to join Cry.

"What'cha got there?" You ask, and are surprised when the normally bubbly man doesn't answer, only turns the object to show you. "Oh..."

You and Cry stare at the photograph in silence, the previous mournful air to the room returning.

"I think they were..." Cry seems to be struggling to get the words out. "I think they were holding onto this...for-for comfort in their...last moments."

The words are quiet but they make your heart clench in a vice. "They weren't...he thinks they were angry at him."

"They were _never_ angry at him," Cry says softly.

"Oh, God, Cry..." You cover your mouth. "This is..."

"I know. It's horrible."

"What's horrible?" Lee asks from the other side of the room, and you glance up at him, stricken.

"It's...it's..."

Cry speaks up. "Your parents were holding onto a picture of you. In their last moments, I think." 

Lee's eyes widen and he crosses the room to you, hand outstretched. Cry passes the paper over and he takes it in his hands, eyes softening as they trace hungrily over the features of his parents and brother. His lips part into a sad smile before his expression steels and he takes the paper as though to rip it.

"Lee, no," You whisper, but it trails off into a sad sigh as the quarter of the picture containing himself flutters to the ground.

"Find anything?" You're startled by Carley's sudden voice behind you. 

Lee looks visibly uncomfortable. "It's a photo of the family who owned this place. It might help us track down the keys to the offi-"

"I know who you are." Carley cuts him off, narrowed eyes. 

"Uh oh." Cry says softly, and squeezes your upper arm. "We should probably-"

"You're Lee Everett. You're a professor at Athens who killed a state senator who was sleeping with your wife." Carley states. In the corner, you see Clementine recoil from shock. She must not have heard your earlier conversation. "This is your parents' store; folks around town know the owners' son got himself a life sentence, but I'm a reporter for WABE in Atlanta."

Lee says nothing but crosses his arms guiltily.

"I paid attention to that trial. Maybe you're a murderer, but I don't really care. Frankly, that's a skill that might come in handy."

"Hmmph." The older man grunts, clearly untrusting.

"Did you tell anyone out there who you were, or that you were tied to this place?" Carley asks.

Lee shakes his head. "No. I've been sticking to first names for a reason. But Sugar here already knew. She was interested in the trial too."

Carley turns to you and regards you closely. "Sugar, eh?" You squirm under her gaze.

"Yes, ma'am." You stutter out, and hear a soft chuckle in your ear.

"Well, that was cute." Cry whispers, and you elbow him in the ribs.

Carley studies you intently before turning back to Lee. "Anyway, it's good that you didn't tell anyone. You seem like an okay guy, and the last thing we need is drama out there. You three have this little girl to take over and...look, don't make me wrong on this."

Lee takes a step forward, whether it's to intimidate her or what, you don't know. "I don't plan to."

"Sexual tension." You hiss to Cry, and he giggles quietly. Lee must have heard you despite the fact that you were so quiet, as he subtly flips you the bird. You snicker lightly.

Carley keeps eye contact. "Good. Because if this lasts longer than a few days and you're a detriment to the group. then we'd have a problem."

"I hear you."

"I'll just keep it to myself." Carley says, luckily.

"Thanks."

The woman breaks eye contact almost bashfully with a smile. "Don't worry about it." And then she's gone, and you're bursting to tease Lee on the way his eyes followed her retreating back.

As he turns to you though, he holds up a finger. "Don't you dare."

... 

Cry bursts out laughing.


	11. Chapter 11

"So..." You frown. "We need to get out there and find those keys."

"We sure do." Cry pats your arm. "I don't know where though...Lee, do you...?"

"No, I gave up my keys when I went to teach at UGA." Lee shakes his head. "Besides, they would have been confiscated when I was arrested anyway."

"Oh, fair point." You cross your arms and think. "Um...you won't like this, but..."

"But?"

"Maybe...if we can find a body..." You wince as you say it. Lee's eyes widen and he shakes his head.

"You're kidding me? You're joking?"

"It...may be our best bet, friend," Cry admits, and Lee sighs.

"You're right. I know you're right, but..."

"We should just hope it doesn't come to that." You say hastily. "Maybe we can check behind the counter or something."

You know, ingame, that Lee's brother has the keys, but you never even check behind the counter. It's worth a shot, that's for sure.

"Yeah, sounds good." Lee curtly walks off and inspects a pallet in the corner, blocking the desk. He reaches over and pulls it out of the way, dislodging something that falls to the ground with a clatter.

"Hey! Look at that, a weapon!" Cry says cheerfully, and you elbow him in the gut. "Ooomph- Sugar!"

Lee bends down and picks up the thing - a cane - weighing it in his hands with a small smile on his face.

"What's that?" Clementine stares at it in wonder.

"This was my dad's cane. He'd zip around here on it from time to time."

"Was he sick?" Clem asks innocently.

"Nah, he was okay. I actually saw him whoop shoplifters with it." The older man reminisces with a small grin. "This cane's protected this place better than any guard dog ever could. Plus he knew how to make it look cool, like you with your hat." He flicks the rim of Clementine's baseball cap.

"My dad gave it to me." She smiles.

"See, dads are smart like that."

You grin at the cute scene but perk up when you hear Cry swallow thickly beside you. "Goddamn it." He whispers.

"It's okay, man." You pat his shoulder.

"We ought to clear this door for when we find the keys." Lee calls, and Cry shakes himself, steeling his expression from what you can tell from behind his mask.

"I agree." He says, examining the desk.

"Let's get it clear, then." You say.

" _Yesssssss_." Cry agrees.

"Can I help?" Clem pipes up.

" _Yesssssss_." Cry repeats and ruffles her cap.

"Sure." Lee says, and the three get into position to move the desk. "Sugar, you can direct us."

"Yup, sounds good."

"Here we go. Watch your fingers in the drawers." Lee warns, and they start pulling the desk into place.

"How are you doing, Clementine?" Cry asks as Clementine strains against the weight of the desk.

"Yeah, it's not that heavy." She says bravely.

"How about with everything outside?" 

"It's not good."

"No, it's not."

"But I think it'll be okay!" She says optimistically.

"A little further." You say.

"Okay, here we go." Lee says, and they push again.

"Ugh...grrr....ugh..." Clementine grunts as the desk grates along the floor, pulling some funny faces as she does so.

"Do you have kids?" She asks Lee.

"No."

"You don't have a family?"

"What do your parents do, Clementine?" Cry changes the subject.

"My mom is a doctor, and my dad is an engineer." 

"Those are good jobs." Lee says.

"What's your job?"

"I, uh, teach history and writing and things like that."

"Like, um...social studies?"

"Yeah, like that."

Clementine nods before furrowing her brow. "You didn't answer my question!"

"All right, turn it a bit." You instruct, and they turn the desk so it is adjacent to the door.

"Why don't you want to talk about your family? Do they, like, hate you?"

"I hope not." Lee bows his head over the desk. "It's just complicated, that's all."

"Why?" Clementine asks, and you touch her shoulder.

"Not now, honey." You whisper.

"But..."

"It just is." Lee says glumly, and Clementine's head drops as she realises she crossed a line.

"But you love them, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Lee stands up straight and then kneels in front of her. "Look, my family is gone and I just wish things would have been different."

"Yeah." Clem avoids eye contact.

"I'm not a bad guy, okay?" Lee insists. "Things happened and... we didn't talk much after that."

"My parents don't talk to me when I get in trouble." She says, still frowning.

"I can relate." Lee says, and Clementine turns back, satisfied with the answer, to pull the desk again. It's just clear of the door, when...

"Owww!" Clementine squeals, and lifts her finger which is bleeding.

"Aw, Clem," You whisper, and Lee lifts her onto the desk as you run and get the first aid kit.


	13. Chapter 13

Er...long time no see.

I'm going to be upfront. I'm sucky with keeping stories going, I know. I'm so sorry.  
  
I've not been updating due to my GCSEs - which I finished about two months ago, so I can't really use it as an excuse.  
Well, that's why I wasn't updating at first.  
  
The second reason, and the reason I haven't updated for months on end - years, for some of my works, is due to unresolved depression and suicidal issues that have been eating me up. I can't even get the motivation to get out of bed. I'm only just 16, and I know it's no excuse. But it shouldn't be this bad, right?  
  
It's getting better, though. I told my parents about the depression and suicidal thoughts last month, and they agree that I have it. My mother is a nurse and my dad suffered from depression too, so I can trust their judgement. I'm lucky that they're supportive. I'm in a better place now, and I want to start writing again. It was always the one thing that gave me joy, the joy of creation. I don't want to let any of you down, everyone here who has been so supportive and such avid readers.

I've been suffering for at least 5 years. I found a journal from when I was twelve where the pages were just scribbled on saying 'I want to die' over and over again. I self harmed at the age of thirteen. I need to get myself together, and I'm on the track to doing that.

I love you all a lot and I am so sorry. I can't even express it.  
Some of my works were written when I was 14 and they need revising completely. I'm going to update everything ongoing I have with this message, including blogs.  
  
Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me. You're all wonderful and I'm so sorry I let you all down. I hope none of you are mad at me, or think I'm faking. I'd like to hear from you all. I'm going to make more of an effort. Thank you <3


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